Ctf9

did mike woodson update the website? have we been wrong about him all along?

What we need is a report that IU's NIL budget was less than we realized and that this is why Leal can't get another year -- then the entire board can unite in anger.

I'm the same as you, with one wrinkle -- I think this year will be a uniquely excellent test of DeVries as a coach because what this team needs to succeed is toughness, culture, and effort. They have the shooting, passing, etc., but a good coach could theoretically get them to rebound and defend as more than the sum of their parts. We haven't had a coach who can do that in a long time. So if this team is good, it won't just mean it's a fun season -- it will mean DeVries is the coach we want him to be. (I think DeVries understands all this better than us -- in fact, him getting guys like Bailey over traditional defenders is him betting on himself and his culture.)

Fair enough. You’re right that this won’t be a big deal either way. I’m trying to trust DeVries more since I did not do the best job staying calm early in the portal lol.

There’s probably some of that. I like Indiana players staying home, for sure. But isn’t it just as possible that people’s love of Hoosier players and history clouds their judgment too? About Leal as a defender or Cody Zeller as the best choice for GM?

All this pro-Leal propaganda makes me think I was wrong to delete my cranky post. The wisest posters here said to trust DeVries even when the portal got off to a slow start (according to Dolson’s own expectations). So I’m going to trust DeVries about the Leal situation, too, which may not even be a situation. But I will say again that a part of fan psychology I just don’t understand is endless anger at ex-coaches and endless sympathy for ex-players. If you dislike Woody, and I very much do, I don’t understand bending over backward to defend Leal. They were both part of several bad and weak teams! Leal was an adult who had a role in this mess. Now he’s an invaluable leader and glue guy? As @Home Jersey notes, defensive metrics are not always useful—even more true in sample sizes as small as Leal’s. I always thought he would make some good team defense plays (but often undermine them by then making a silly play with the ball). But he did not look like a great defender to me. And mostly because he can’t keep players in front of him, which is a bigger problem without a rim protector. It is absolutely wild to me that anyone would want Leal over literally any big, even one who won’t play this year but might play in two years. We all watched the same games, right?

Do you know what the plan is for the non Goode spot?

Eamonn Brennan had a long Indiana analysis in his latest Substack newsletter. He said he was “cautiously” optimistic, “maybe.” So less enthused than most on this board. He seemed pretty surprised at how many midmajor players DeVries brought in. But Brennan also said that if DeVries is a good evaluator, it could work really well. And most intriguingly he said he thinks IU might be saving its money for one more big player—possibly as big as Darrion Williams. Brennan pointed out that those midmajor guys can be solid starters but also dynamite bench guys, and he believes IU still has more to spend. No idea if this is true. Just sharing a national perspective (and of course Brennan is also an IU grad).

I deleted my Leal rant -- it was way too negative and too aggressive toward other fans. I apologize. My emotions got the better of me -- I just really, really don't want another year of him. I'm sure the anon rumors aren't even true. I'll touch grass as soon as possible.

Wish it could have happened sooner but we have a solid team for next year and Clark seems like a big rising star—should help recruiting get even stronger going forward. I’m excited!

Thanks for all this! Really helpful. Your answer is also exactly why it’s so hard to make these comparisons, lol. I imagine we’ll all have to learn more about this as the Euro pipeline heats up.

One thing that's going to take some adjusting, for us armchair coaches, is translating Euroleague players to college contexts. There are so many leagues, at so many levels. I hope one day we're at a point where analytics makes it easy to compare and project, the way baseball stats can across minor league levels, but we aren't there yet. Anyway, the big guy who just signed with UVA averaged roughly 8 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks while playing in the Basketball Budeslinga league. Interestingly, his teammate in the front court was Jayden Gardner, who recently graduated from . . . UVA. During his last two years at UVA, Gardner averaged roughly 14 and 6. In his first year in Europe, he again averaged 14 and 6. I have a lot to learn on this front, but here's one thought experiment (with a million caveats about fit / age / etc.) that says Basketball Budeslinga stats are roughly the same as power five stats. Has anyone tried doing this kind of translation on the Greek kid we're chasing?

I’m starting a new thread because (understandably) a lot of posters just want to look forward. But I think this info is useful for contextualizing what @Chris007 and @BehindTheBench and @GP711 were passing along. On Monday night, March 17, a full day before the DeVries news leaked, Curry Hicks Sage on his influential national podcast said that IU seemed out on McCollum and that it was between DeVries and “someone really ******* big.” Curry also said he meant someone like Stevens, even if he didn’t know who exactly it was. This podcast has the best info of anyone—even better than Trilly. I think it’s easy to connect the dots here and say that our insiders had heard for weeks that Stevens was in serious talks and that he ultimately declined this weekend. Dolson didn’t want to get caught flat footed again so he had also been working for weeks on backups, including DeVries. Once Stevens was out, Dolson pivoted. There’s obviously a game of telephone between the donors here, which may explain why @BehindTheBench heard that Stevens said yes while @Chris007 heard only that Stevens had not said no. Also, I still have a lot of questions, mostly involving why exactly Stevens said no a second time. My sense was always that Chris was pretty optimistic based on his info—the Center Grove house, for instance—but that he tried to keep his optimism in check so as not to repeat the heartbreak of the last search. He and most of the other insiders were clearly trying to be level headed, and I appreciate them doing that. I understand why some other posters still feel misled about Stevens, but the Curry Hicks Sage podcast suggests this was all real. Again, I have no idea why Stevens said no. I am curious to hear any other details people want to share—not just on Stevens but also on whether McCollum was actually Dolson’s choice over DeVries, as Chris hinted. I can’t be the only who hopes that @JerryYeagley23 shares more intel at some point too. I’m excited for the new coach, but I’m also curious if we can get any closure on our shared month of insanity. And I wanted to point to the podcast that backed up our insiders.

The most important thing is defense / rebounding, and I haven't watched any film to judge either, but it's worth noting that Miller had nearly three assists a game. Really good for a big and seems to fit the DeVries system. Miller's a better shooter, too, as seen in threes and especially free throws. If defense and rebounding is close, I say Miller.

Kentucky Sports Radio said IU has been in contact, but he’s visited them and Virginia Tech. Seems like IU doesn’t have any momentum here—too bad, as he seems like a great wing prospect.

Adding Brennan and Overton moved us up to the 22-26 range.

If I’m reading it right, and he does say it’s too early, but as of right now this collection of players looks like a team that would rank in the thirties by his formula. Offense would be in the fifties and defense in the twenties, which is the opposite of what I would have guessed. But a team in the 30-39 range on Kenpom sounds right. Purdue would be top five, for reference.

Totally agree. It may not be a holiday so much as a time for families to hang, but the whole family benefits from NIL—loved Wilkerson telling Goodman his first purchase was something for his mom.

I have no idea but don’t you think Easter weekend is probably not a big visits weekend? I could see the coaches working through, given the time structures, but maybe the players just want to hang with their families? I have no idea but if it’s a quiet weekend I won’t stress.

So assuming we add a competent bench big, what’s the expectation for this team? To me it seems like great offense, ok defense, and making the tournament with a chance for some upsets along the way because of shooting and toughness. I would take that season in a heartbeat.

He’s also doing it in what seems to be a more competitive portal environment—lots of top teams spending big and turning over huge chunks of their roster, fast. I remain in wait and see mode with DeVries, but I’m certainly not panicking anymore. This team should make the tournament. That’s good enough for year one. I think they’ll also be really fun to watch.

Iowa just signed a shooter out of Kansas State who will surely start with Stirtz. Plus four other Drake players, mostly wings and guards. Plus a kid from Utah Valley on campus now. So they might not have room for Overton (or maybe they couldn’t afford him).

First Four more likely but in year one I’ll take it lol

Nice work by DeVries.

Did you get a sense of why he was spinning the info? To make an IU source happy or was he just being duped or what?